Betrayal
by Ninja-Consultant
Summary: The situation is not as everyone thought it was. Will Superboy and Match be in the position to remain family when it's all over? A 5 part story. Completed.
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Also, if you have not read my other stories, it would be helpful to do so before reading this one. The chronology goes: Brothers in Arms, Where Do We Go From Here, Tragedies of the Past, Betrayal From Within, Future Sins, Reestablishing Bonds, Parents and Children, New Allies, Rivals or Friends, Public Enemy Number One, Double Date, Mind Games, Solar Complications, Mentors and Pupils, Brother Against Brother, Calm Before the Storm, Opening Moves, Isolation, The Great Father and Son Contest, Fugue State, Fallout, Holidays, and Confidence and Envy.

Betrayal, prologue

Location: Titan's Tower

It was a regular day for the Titans. Kid Flash was playing videogames with Beast Boy. Cyborg and Robin were overhauling the computer system. Match was reading in his room. The rest were watching television.

Suddenly, every window in the building shattered and blew outward.

"What was that?" Cyborg shouted.

Kon recognized the power signature and swallowed. "That was Match."

"I sense his emotions upstairs," Raven said. "He is disturbed."

"Everybody, get to him!" Robin ordered.

They dashed there to find Match sitting in his room with his book open on a desk in front of him. He turned to face them with a dead look in his eyes.

"What's wrong?" Kon asked. "What happened?"

"I apologize for the outburst," Match said in a monotone. "I need to go."

He got up and started to walk out. Kon put his hand on his shoulder to stop him.

"You blew out all the windows," Robin said. "What's going on?"

Match jerked his shoulder away. "I don't want to talk about it."

"We're your friends," Wonder Girl said. "If there's something wrong, we want to help you."

"None of you would understand. None of you _could_ understand."

"Maybe it's best if Match has some time to cool off," Cyborg suggested. "After you've had some time and space to yourself, you might be ready to tell us what's on your mind."

"Yeah, whatever."

Match walked off. Everyone looked at Conner, and he gave a helpless shrug of his shoulders. He didn't understand what was going on any more than they did.

Robin took a look at Match's book. "He was reading this, so maybe it's a clue to his behavior. It seems to be a diary of some sort. It's not in English...I think this is Latin?"

"Let me see it," Kid Flash said. "I ate a Latin dictionary; I should be able to read it."

Kid Flash flipped through the diary. "That's odd."

"What is it?" Kon asked.

"It's in Latin, but a really odd version of it. I didn't understand even half of it. I think I see what got him upset though; or, at least, I can point out the passage."

"What is it?" Wonder Girl asked.

Bart pointed out a paragraph. "I don't really understand it, but I see Match and Superboy's name, in addition to Luthor's. There's also 'death' and 'devoted' in there. The diary was written by some countess."

Kon paled. "It's the Contessa's diary."

Robin looked grim. "She controlled the Agenda. I'll contact Oracle to get this translated."

A little while later, Batman's face appeared on the Titan's monitor. He looked grim.

"Where's Match?" he asked.

"He hasn't come back yet," Cyborg said. "I thought it was best to give him some time to cool off."

"What was the translation of the diary?" Superboy asked.

Batman said, "We need to find him. I'm mobilizing everyone."

"What did the diary say?" Superboy asked again.

"It read as follows, 'Luthor had staked several of his plans around his creation, Superboy. I cannot allow them to take place, for I shall never stop seeking to spite that man. As a contingency, if I am to ever fall into death's embrace, then Match shall become devoted to Superboy and will protect him from Luthor's schemes.'"

The Titans were stunned. Was it possible that Match was merely conditioned to protect Kon? They didn't want to think that their friend was forced to act that way.

"I can't believe it," Kon said. "He's not programmed to be like this. He can't be!"

--

Any and all comments welcome!


	2. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal, chapter 1

Location: Titan's Tower

The Titans and others searched for Match but were unable to find him. Robin combed over his room to see if there was any hint as to where he might be but could find nothing. Kon also called Dan to see if he had visited him, but he hadn't returned to Smallville.

"He shouldn't be alone right now," Kon worried.

"Match has a good head on his shoulders," Cyborg comforted him. "He'll get through this."

"I hope so."

An alarm went off.

"What's the situation?" Robin asked.

"There's an attack on the naval shipyards in San Diego," Cyborg said after checking his link with the Tower's computer. "Let's get a move on!"

Location: The JLA Watchtower

"We've got multiple emergencies," Oracle reported. "I'm transporting you now and will brief you on-site!"

"I copy you," Wonder Woman said. "We're ready."

The JLA winked out via the teleport beams. The Watchtower was empty of heroes.

A moment later, the teleport tube activated, and a single figure walked into the Watchtower.

Location: the Naval Shipyards, San Diego

The Titans were confused. They had rushed out here, and there was no sign of any trouble.

"What's going on?" Robin demanded. "Where's the emergency?"

"I don't know," Cyborg said, confused. "This is where the computer told me it should be!"

His eye widened. "I'm getting reports that other teams have been sent out on wild goose chases too! Our system has been compromised!"

"For what purpose?" Cassie asked.

Location: the JLA Watchtower, holding cells

"What's going on?" Captain Cold demanded. "I thought I heard alarms."

"What's it matter?" Sonar asked. "We're stuck here."

"Maybe, maybe not," Clayface said. "If there's an opening, we could escape."

The door to the area slid open. Match stepped in. He looked quite different as his mesh shirt didn't hide numerous tattoos on his body. He work black leather pants and had a black leather duster on.

"You are all members of a group called the Gathering Storm," he told them. "I know this. In return for breaking you out, I want in."

"Why should we trust you?" Captain Cold challenged. "You're not on our side."

"I've had a change of heart," he told them. "I'm not the person I used to be. I need protection from the JLA, and the Gathering Storm can provide it."

Match paused before adding. "You have two minutes, twelve seconds until they return. It will take ninety seconds to escape. Make your choice quickly."

"Done," Sonar said. "Get me out of here."

The other villains nodded, and Match released them from their cells.

"How'd you do it?" Cold asked as they walked to the teleporter.

"There are downsides to a dependency on technology," Match answered.

The door to the teleport chamber slid open to reveal Batman.

"What do you think you're doing?" he demanded, the anger in his voice apparent.

The three criminals looked very nervous. They didn't have their equipment, and they knew that Batman could easily take them without it (or perhaps even with it).

"What does it look like?" Match asked, smirking at him.

"This isn't like you, Match," Batman said. "Stand down."

"You don't know what I'm like. How could you? I don't know what I'm like."

"Don't do this. We can help you."

Match shook his head. "I've had enough of that. I'm helping myself."

He gestured at Batman who rose a few inches into the air. "You're in the way. Move."

Batman was telekinetically slammed into the wall, and he fell to the ground, unmoving.

"Get on the teleport platform," Match said, operating the controls.

"We can finish off the Bat," Clayface, looking at the unconscious hero.

"There's no time," Match snapped. "He delayed us; their system will be out of my control in five seconds."

Clayface grimaced and joined the other two on the teleport platform. Match stepped on it, and they winked out.

A moment later, Superman appeared. He saw Batman lying on the ground.

"Bruce!" he called out as he rushed to his side.

His heartbeat was weak but steady. The impact has broken a couple of ribs. Superman took him to the medical bay.

"Oracle, what happened?" Superman called out.

"Our system got hacked," she reported. "Everything got taken over; I'm running a check to see what happened when the system was compromised...prisoners escaped!"

"Who?"

"Captain Cold, Clayface, and Sonar. They were being held while we investigated their connections to the Gathering Storm."

"Did they do this? I would have thought that Bruce could have dealt with them by himself."

"No, it looks like their cells were manually opened. I'm checking the security footage; we should have them on camera. I'm putting the feed on a screen near you."

Clark looked at the screen, and his heart sank. "Match did this. He's gone rogue."

"What?" Oracle exclaimed. "He had the skills for it, but I can't believe it was him!"

Clark recovered. "Activate security protocol epsilon. Families and friends need to be brought to safety."

"O-of course," Oracle said. "I'm on it."

--

Any and all comments welcome!


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal, chapter 2

Location: Titan's Tower

"I can't believe it," Kon said. "He couldn't have done this!"

"It's on tape," Robin said, icily. "He knocked out Batman and broke three of his ribs."

"He could be possessed! Or, it could be temporary insanity!"

"Temporary insanity might explain those tattoos or that new costume, but to hack Oracle's mainframe? To have carefully known our response to the thousandth of a second? That was calculated."

"It was calculated to the millionth of a second," Kid Flash corrected. "He started coming into the tower at exactly the moment it was too late for the Flash to opt out of the teleportation process."

Kon was in a difficult place. He wanted to defend his brother, but he was shown assaulting Tim's adoptive father. He couldn't blame Tim for getting so angry; he was at a loss to explain Max's actions.

Cassie tried to bring everyone together. "Do we have anything on this Gathering Storm group? Let's track them down."

Robin took a deep breath and put aside his anger. "They're a recent coalition of supervillains. We don't know a lot about them, which is why the JLA was holding those three. The files that were being collected were deleted too."

Location: a secret base

They took the blindfold off of Match. He merely smiled when he saw the huge-headed individual in front of him.

"Hector Hammond," he greeted.

"You're here because of what you've done," the man said. "Whether you stay here or whether you continue to live is still under debate."

Match slouched in his chair. "Why don't you just read my mind?"

"If I could, I would. You have an odd resistance to my telepathy. This is something that aliens seem to share."

"Ah. I didn't know that my hybrid nature did that."

"Not all telepaths are the same, and not all aliens have it. Why did you break my men out?"

"I realized that I wasn't aiding those heroes out of my own free will. I wanted to get away, but I knew they wouldn't let me; I know too much about them. So, I came to the conclusion that I needed protection. Breaking your men out seemed the best way to get in contact with you."

"What do you know about the heroes?"

Match smiled. "I'm hardly going to tell you anything until I'm guaranteed entry into your organization. I may be young, but I'm not foolish."

"What do you have to offer me, then?"

"Let's talk about that," Match said, smiling.

Location: the JLA Watchtower

An alarm sounded.

"There's an attack on Washington DC!" Green Lantern called out. "Multiple criminals, including Sinestro and Devastation!"

"Go," Batman ordered. "With my broken ribs, I'm a liability in the field. I'll take over monitor duty."

The other JLA members teleported down to the capital to confront the villains. They saw only civilians.

"What's going on?" Superman said. "They're not here!"

"I don't know what's going on," Oracle admitted. "My system said they were there!"

Location: the Gathering Storm's base

Hector Hammond grinned, a grotesque sight. Match had sent the JLA off on a wild goose chase.

Match typed quickly on the computer. "I'm in their system. I can make them see what I want them to see."

"I think you'll do well here," Hammond said. "Welcome to the Gathering Storm."

Location: Titan's Tower

Oracle and Robin were exchanging ideas on how to keep Match out of their systems.

"I still can't believe he hacked us," she complained. "The worst part of it is that he did it just a little while before! My pride as a hacker is hurt."

"He'll try it again," Robin predicted. "He's feeling cocky since he pulled it off again so soon after the first time. He should have laid low. We've already found two of his backdoors."

"Yeah, but who knows how many more he has?"

Conner was hitting a punching bag. He was still confused about his feelings. He didn't want to fight Max, but if he kept doing things like this, he'd have to.

Cassie went over to him. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Not really," he said, still taking his frustrations out on the bag.

"You can sit this out, you know. You don't have to take part in it. Nobody's going to complain."

He looked at her. "I can't. I need to know why he's doing this."

Cassie put her arms around him. "I'm here for you. We'll get through this together."

"Thanks, Cass."

Location: the Gathering Storm's secret base

Match was working on the group's system when two people entered the room. He turned to look at them; they were members of the Royal Flush Gang, a Jack and an Ace.

"What do you want?" Match asked. "I'm busy."

"I owe you," the Jack told him, advancing in a threatening manner.

"Who are you?"

"You broke my arm at the Slab," the man hissed.

"Oh! You're that guy! How'd it heal? Still feeling any twinges? Maybe when it's damp outside?"

The Jack glared at him. "I've got Ace to help me get my revenge, and he's an advanced battle android! You're going to be very sorry!"

Match looked at the advancing Ace. "He _is_ an advanced robot, isn't he?"

"It's too late to beg for mercy!"

Ace stopped advancing.

Jack looked at him. "What are you doing? Get him!"

"I bet he's advanced enough to have the part I need to upgrade my system," Match continued. "Let's find out."

Jack gaped in horror as Ace was disassembled in front of him. One circuit board flew to Match's hands while the rest of the combat android lay in pieces on the floor.

"Ace!" Jack shouted. "That's no fair!"

"Because you brought this to me, I'm going to give you five seconds to get out of my sight," Match said pleasantly. "If you aren't gone by then, we'll see how you like having your other arm broken."

The Jack fled, screaming, "Help me!"

Match smiled and installed the board into the computer.

Location: Dan's house, Smallville

"You look tired," Dan told Conner.

Conner rubbed his eyes. "Max has been playing havoc with our computer systems. He's really pissing the techies off."

Dan was uncharacteristically quiet.

"Are you sure he hasn't been in contact with you?" Conner asked. "No strange e-mails or anything like that?"

"No, he hasn't. If he were, I wouldn't tell you!"

Conner flinched as if he had been hit. "I just want to stop him before he does anything wrong. Well, anything more wrong than hack our system a dozen times."

"You're going to beat him up and throw him in jail, aren't you?" Dan accused.

"Right now, I just want to know why he's doing this," Conner said. "He's my brother, and I don't want him hurt. But, I don't want him hurting other people because I know he'll regret it when he comes to his senses."

"You were there when he was all confused, why didn't you help him?"

"You think I didn't want to? I wanted to go right after him, but he was pushing people away and wanted time to himself. If I forced the issue, it could have made things worse. If I knew then what I know now, I would have stopped him!"

Dan looked apologetic. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash out at you. It's just...I love him, you know? I wish he talked to me or even if he asked me to come with him."

"No, I'm sorry. You didn't say anything that I haven't wondered myself. He hasn't attacked anyone's secret identity or loved ones, so he hasn't done anything beyond the pale yet. I just...want him back."

Dan sat down and frowned. "I know. I do too."

Location: Titan's Tower

"Yes!" Robin exulted.

"What's up?" Kid Flash asked. "Good news, I take it?"

"Match was overconfident this last time! It took some doing, but we managed to track down his system's footprint!"

"For those of us who don't speak hacker, what does that mean?" Kon asked.

Oracle responded. "It means we can trace his system's location. We'll find out where he is once we get through his defenses."

"Can you get through them?" Cyborg asked. "You yourselves have said that he's very good."

"I've got an idea to give us a big advantage," Robin said, smiling.

--

Oooh, those Bat-family characters and their sneaky plans!

Any and all comments welcome!


	4. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal, chapter 3

Location: the Gathering Storm's secret lair

Match heard a ping from his computer and went over to check what it was. He cursed and started typing rapidly.

"What's going on?" Sonar asked.

"They're trying to hack into my system," he explained. "They're actually trying to put me on the defensive! It's not going to work, of course."

"Should I let anyone know?"

"I've got things under control. You might want to leave, though; it's not going to be entertaining watching me type and run circles around them unless you know anything about computers."

"Eh. I'll go get something to eat."

Sonar wandered off to leave Match alone.

Location: the Bat Cave

"Okay, Robin," Oracle sent. "Time for you to join in."

Robin smiled. "Got it!"

He started typing and joined Oracle's assault. Revenge for what Match had done was going to be sweet.

Location: the Gathering Storm's secret lair

"Another line of attack?" Match muttered to himself. "Looks like Robin's joined in. I can still take the both of you; it'll just be closer."

Match increased his typing speed, bringing up defenses that were smashed in moments by Oracle and Robin. All his counter-attacks were thwarted; they had removed his back-doors into their system. The conditions were slightly favorable to them, but Match focused on his work.

Location: the JLA Watchtower

Batman addressed the assembled JLA, JSA, Titans, and Outsiders. "Once we have the location of the Gathering Storm, we'll immediately go there. We know they will most likely have most of their members there, but we've been over tactics to deal with that. In addition, I will remain here to coordinate."

"We must capture Match," Wonder Woman reminded them. "He knows things about us that we cannot allow the villainous community to learn. We'll have to find out what, if anything, he's told them."

Kon tensed at that statement, and Cassie squeezed his hand.

"You sure you want to do this?" she asked him quietly.

"I need to," he said softly.

Location: the Gathering Storm's secret lair

Match was still typing furiously, but he had turned a losing situation into a standstill.

"A tie means I win, because you still don't have what you need," he said with a grin.

The grin quickly left his face as a third hacker joined in the assault on his system.

"Who the hell is helping them?"

Location: Steelworks

Natasha Irons smiled as she worked on her computer. "Take that, you white-haired pretty boy!"

Location: the JLA Watchtower

"We've got the coordinates!" Oracle exclaimed. "We're sending you there now!"

The assembled heroes were teleported to the Gathering Storm's base. The villainous coalition did have more members, but they weren't as used to working together as the heroes. Some put up a tremendous struggle. Some were able to sneak away.

Hector Hammond found himself confronted by the Martian Manhunter. He lashed out with his psychic powers, but J'onn was able to counter them with his own.

The Flash was able to defeat the Rogues. The Royal Flush Gang was overwhelmed without Ace. A few of the villains just waited to be captured; they saw what they were up against and knew it was hopeless.

Superboy burst into a room filled with computers and stopped. Match was there, lounging in his chair, looking unconcerned.

"Match," he said, his voice anguished.

"Hi, Superboy," his brother responded. "Looks like there was quite the gathering, wasn't there?"

"Why'd you betray us?" Kon asked in a pained voice. "Why?"

Match shrugged. "Who knows? Maybe I had to prove something to myself. Perhaps it's for the best that it happened."

"You can't believe that!"

"People were always waiting for me to go bad. Maybe I'm just giving them what they wanted. You know I've always been good at meeting expectations."

Kon sighed. "It's like I don't even know who you are."

"Don't be like that. We had some great times together."

"I'm going to regret this, but...go. I'll make like you slugged me and got away. There's still time!"

Match looked surprised. "You can't mean that!"

"Go! Before I come to my senses!"

Match sighed. "No matter where I went, everyone would still be after me. It's a question of knowing too much."

"You can still run!"

Match stood up. "I'm tired of running and pretending I'm something I'm not. I can't escape myself. If there's someone to take me in, it should be you."

He approached Kon and gave him a peck on the cheek. "Thank you for the offer though. I know this couldn't have been easy on you."

--

The conclusion to come!

Any and all comments welcome!


	5. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within

Disclaimer: DC Comics owns all rights to the characters within. They are used without permission and not meant to infringe on copyrights or meant to generate income.

Betrayal, chapter 4

Location: the Gathering Storm's secret lair

Match followed Superboy back to the heroes and their prisoners.

"Are you going to tell us why you did it, Match?" Wonder Woman asked. "Should I compel you to tell the truth with my magic lasso?"

Match seemed unconcerned as power nullifying cuffs were placed on him. "You're going to have the Martian Manhunter go into my mind, so why not wait until then?"

"What do you mean?" Kid Flash asked.

"I know too much," Match replied in a clinical tone. "Some steps will need to be taken."

"That's enough," Batman's voice came from a communicator. "The Martian Manhunter will escort the rest of the prisoners to the Slab while Match is brought to the Watchtower."

Location: the JLA Watchtower

Conner felt very nervous, while Match continued to seem blasé about everything. Batman stood at one end of the room across from him, while the rest of the heroes watched. There was an uneasy feeling in the air.

"These aren't necessary any more," Match said, holding up with arms with the power nullifiers.

"You're correct," Batman said, advancing on him.

He removed the cuffs from Match, and some in the room tensed, preparing for the white-haired teen to lash out. Match merely rubbed his wrists.

"I'm disappointed," Batman said.

"It was my call. Circumstances led to it."

The unusual conversation had others confused.

"What are they talking about?" Bart whispered to Cassie.

"By putting things into motion earlier, we weren't able to get as high a level of containment as we planned," Batman said.

Match shrugged. "There was a plan in motion that would have meant a high probability of losing one of our own; I deemed that unacceptable. What were the numbers?"

"That is an appropriate reason. We had a sixty-eight percent containment."

Match made a face. "That's six percent lower than we planned. I believe we should be able to make some of that up with the additional information I recovered."

"Yes. Considering the circumstances, this was excellent work."

There were surprised murmurings, as Match replied, "Thank you. This mission was...unpleasant."

"This was a ruse all the time?" Kon asked, shocked. "Why didn't you say anything?"

"He couldn't," Batman answered. "Hammond is telepathic and would have skimmed your minds to see if he had truly gone rogue or not. Your reactions had to be authentic."

"I'm sorry," Match apologized. "'All warfare is based on deception.' The Art of War still holds today."

"Who knew about this?" Superman asked, struggling to control himself. "Who else was in on this?"

"Besides the two of us, J'onn was the only other one," Batman replied. "We needed to keep the number of people who knew to the smallest group possible."

"What about breaking Batman's ribs?" Robin asked. "Was that planned?"

"It was part of the scenario we put together," Batman explained. "It made his 'change' seem more believable to the criminals."

"I do want it on record that it wasn't my idea," Match said with the hint of a smile.

"It added three percent to your likelihood of your disguise."

"The tattoos, the forged diary of the Contessa's, this outfit. It was all part of our profile to make it look like I'd genuinely gone bad."

"You could have told me," Superman complained. "Hammond has difficulty reading my mind."

"You weren't told because you're not suited for deceit," Batman said bluntly.

"You have too honest a face," Match said. "It's why you're you."

"Whose idea was this?" Wonder Woman asked.

"The original idea was mine," Match said. "However, it was in quite a different form. Most of the alterations were Batman's."

"I made it survivable," Batman noted. "Your original plan was completely unworkable."

"I apologize to everyone," Match said. "It was not my desire to make you all worried for your identities and loved ones."

"Don't pull something like this ever again," Kon ordered.

"He won't," Batman said. "He's now got some enforced downtime before he can enter the field again."

Match smiled and pointed at his tattoos. "I'd like to get these removed now. They really don't suit me."

"Who were we at danger of losing?" Batman asked. "We should take steps to prevent it from happening again."

"It's no longer a problem. The astral window has passed."

Batman made a face. "Oh. Magic. I thought there was a logical reason."

"They're criminals. They are a superstitious and cowardly bunch."

Kon laughed, and the laughter quickly spread. A lot of nervous energy was released.

Location: the Kent's farm

There was a knock at the door.

"I'll get it," Max said.

He opened the door and was caught in a surprise hug by Dan.

"Don't make me worry like that again!" Dan ordered.

"I'm sorry, I couldn't say anything."

Conner laughed. "At least there's a happy ending!"

"Dan, would you be a little gentler?" Max asked. "I had a lot of tattoos removed, and I'm feeling a little sensitive."

"You deserve it for making everyone worry," Dan complained. "You looked awful with them."

"I thought you would have liked the clothes."

"Kind of, but that stuff all over your body wasn't you."

"That was the point," Conner said.

"I'm back, and I'm not scary anymore," Max said.

Later that night, as Conner and Max were about to go to sleep, Conner asked, "So, how was it?"

"I didn't think I'd be that good at being evil," Max admitted. "It was...too easy, and that scares me."

"How much of it was real?" Conner asked. "I know you very well, and some of the vibes I got off of you in the computer room...I don't think you were just putting on a show for any cameras."

"People have expected me to revert to evil. That part was very true."

"What about what you expect?"

Max was silent.

"Talk to me, Max."

"I've looked at the past cases. Villains that have reformed have higher than fifty percent rate of returning to crime. That worries me because I'm not like you."

"Max..."

"You're so good that I can feel it in your presence. I-I'm not good."

Conner went over to hold his brother. Max was shaking.

"You are good," Conner told him. "Don't lie to yourself."

"I lied to Batman," Max whispered.

"What?"

"There was no astral window. I called the mission off because I felt myself slipping."

Conner picked up a handkerchief and wiped his brother's eyes. "Look, you were under a lot of pressure with this. Calling it off was the right choice."

"We could have captured more of them if I wasn't so easily tempted. If I were stronger-"

"I'll keep you out of these situations," Conner promised. "When you're dealing with areas where it's clear what's right and wrong, you'll get a better sense of yourself."

"I'm sorry for being such a baby."

"Don't apologize for being human. Never apologize for that."

--

My apologies for the misdirection, but if you look at the end of the last chapter in Fallout, you'll see that Batman and Match were working on this for a while!

Any and all comments welcome!


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